Cherry Covered Moon
by Sammy-Jo
Summary: If you have not read through chapter 330 in the manga, this fic will contain spoilers. After the events of chapter 330, I will completely branch off and come up with my own story. There's a more detailed summary inside. I hope you enjoy it!


Here's my first Naruto fanfic attempt, _Cherry Covered Moon_.

If you have not read the manga, this fic _does _contain spoilers from the most up-to-date chapter of the manga at the time of writing this (chapter 330). If you have not read chapter 330, and do not want anything spoiled, please do not read any further.

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This takes place vaguely after Asuma's funeral. I say vaguely, because although I will do my best to stay true to how each character would act, this fanfic is _not_ meant to be a continuation of what's in the manga.

From Asuma's funeral, it will completely branch off into an unlikely scenario that randomly popped into my head. Also, while I will do my best not to change any details of the story that have already happened in the manga, since this is my fanfic, I have the right to add in things that never actually happened in the manga.

I welcome all comments.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

Sammy-Jo

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_Cherry Covered Moon_

Chapter 1

From bright green eyes, a single tear slid down her cheek. It gently, slowly curved downward until it kissed her chapped lips, moistening them for a second with its salty wetness. Sakura Haruno sat upright on her bed, fully clothed. She stared blankly through the window, seeing nothing. She took a deep breath, inhaling slowly, and then forced the air out all at once. More tears joined the one that had dried on her lips, until they formed a steady, silent stream. Still, she could make no sound.

Sakura wept, but not only for Asuma's death. She had never felt so helpless in her life. Even back in the forest during the Chuunin exams, when she'd had to protect Naruto and Sasuke, she hadn't felt like this. At that time, she'd been able to gather her resolve, and fight. Now…Now, she wasn't sure if there were a reason to have any hope. Ever since that fateful day, when Orochimaru had marked Sasuke, nothing had gone right. Was it so wrong to want a normal life? When she'd chosen the path of a ninja, Sakura had known that she'd be exposed to danger constantly, for what she was, and what she stood for. But, she couldn't possibly have expected anything like this to happen. Their enemies were powerful and many, and they wouldn't stop at anything to achieve their goals. Sakura wondered if Konoha had a chance.

_Stop that! _Sakura's right fist clenched so tightly, her nails drew blood, but she took no notice. _Stop thinking that way; that's how they want you to think!_

The kunoichi tried to convince herself, tried to find her inner resolve. After a few moments of frustration, she angrily stood up. She couldn't take being pent up in her room any longer. Sakura closed the door behind her as she walked out into the moonlight. She needed to _move_, to do _something_. Breathing in the cool, crisp night air, she took off in a random direction, not caring where she ended up.

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Itachi Uchiha had watched the funeral from a distance. He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. Apparently, Hidan, one of his fellow Akatsuki members, had killed Asuma. That was unexpected. After all, Hidan and Kakuzu had merely been ordered to capture the three-tail's jinchuriki. They really shouldn't have taken notice of anyone who got in their way. Then again, perhaps with those two, it was not so unexpected.

He recalled the last time he had seen Asuma, on the bridge. Itachi hadn't been lying when he'd said that he had no desire to kill Asuma. However, he couldn't feel any emotion at the Jonin's death. He'd seen firsthand how quickly and easily human life could be snuffed out. He'd learned to overcome such useless emotions as attachment, when human life was so fragile. Hidan had simply been stronger than Asuma, and as a law, the strong destroyed the weak.

"Kisame."

"Yes, Itachi?"

"You've seen our target. I know you'd like to go charging in with Samehada, but as of now, it would be best to assume, although we've taken all necessary precautions, that every ninja in Konoha knows of our presence. We must then act accordingly."

"Samehada yearns to taste blood, but you should know me better than that, Itachi. I would not 'go charging in' without first assessing the situation. However, don't you think you're being a little too cautious? I don't think there's a single ninja in the entire village that even suspects we might be out here."

"It's unlikely, but we can't let our guard down."

Itachi opened his eyes, looking over at Kisame.

"That girl."

Kisame started slightly, thrown off by the sudden change in direction of the conversation.

"What girl?"

He followed Itachi's gaze to a lone, pink haired kunoichi. The girl was walking rapidly down a moonlit path. She looked either distressed or mentally disturbed. Kisame couldn't tell which one just by glancing at her.

"What about her, Itachi? Her chakara level is extremely low. She is an ant. Why take notice of her?"

"She was with Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki."

Kisame grunted in recognition of the names.

"I still don't see why you're taking notice of her. She is of no use to us. Naruto is likely alone in his room at this point in time. It won't be too difficult to capture him now."

"Exactly. It _won't_ be difficult to capture him now. There's no challenge in it. Without a challenge, there's no pleasure in life. That's why I killed my clan. It was a challenge to me, to see how far I could go. I found only weak resistance from them. This is also why I let my younger brother live. Perhaps, one day, he will present a challenge to me," Itachi spoke in his usual flat, emotionless voice.

Then, for just a second, something almost like excitement flashed in his bright red eyes, as he said, "This girl…Sakura, I believe Naruto called her…She will be my challenge."

"Your…challenge? How could such a weakling pose a challenge to you, Itachi?"

Itachi held up a hand for silence. Sakura had stopped moving. He watched as she took a kunai from the pouch at her waist. She gripped the blade end so tightly that it cut deeply into her hand. Suddenly, the girl released it, the bloody kunai falling to the grass below. She took a deep breath and spoke out loud.

"That's it! I'm finished with feeling helpless each time something bad happens! To feel this way after Asuma's death is an insult to his memory."

Sakura straightened, her bright eyes unknowingly staring straight at Itachi's hiding place. Green eyes briefly met red, but she remained unaware of the exchange. Sakura held up her blood-soaked hand.

"I swear on my blood that I will never allow such feelings to overtake my thoughts again. I will do my best, for Asuma…for Sasuke…for Chiyo…for everyone."

Sakura stared at her hand as the crimson blood slowly dripped onto the grass. She blinked, suddenly seeming to realize where she was and what she was doing.

"What was I thinking? I can't allow such a wound to my knife hand to bleed like that," Sakura said as she quickly healed the cut.

Itachi almost smiled. The corners of his lips barely flickered upward for a second, and then his face bore its usual expressionless mask. One could almost imagine that there had been no change in expression.

"So, she's a medic-nin. Well, then."

Itachi took a kunai from his belt, and without so much as a pause or a change in expression, he plunged the knife deeply into his lower abdomen. Blood flowed freely from the wound as he pulled the knife out and cleaned it on the grass.

"Wait and see, Kisame. This girl…Sakura…She will be the death of Konoha."


End file.
